Silent Night, Unexpected Night

Silent Night,
Unexpected Night

Copyright © 2012, Ella Jade

Publisher: Midnight Rose Publishing

Beta Reader: Tamaria Soana

Edited by Rebecca Wolfe

Cover Art: Designs by Viari

All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and
incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used
fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark
owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been
used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not
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Back Cover

Ever
since his divorce several years ago, Dr. Tanner Rhodes has spent Christmas Eve
alone. He has a tradition; he sits by the fire, sips his brandy, and falls
asleep by the lights of the tree. When his son Aiden's beautiful friend, Sofia,
shows up unexpectedly at his door bearing gifts, everything changes. When had
Sofia become a woman?

Chapter
One

Christmas
Eve

Sparkling white lights, red bows and
green holly decked the halls of the hospital. The holiday season had always
been one of Tanner’s favorite times to be at work. Despite the fact that people
were here and didn't want to be, the staff did a wonderful job of making things
festive and light for the patients. This particular time of year made him proud
to be the Chief of Staff at one of Boston's largest teaching facilities.

“Dr. Rhodes,” a soft voice called from
across the nurses' station. “What are you still doing here?”

“Hey, Jill.” Tanner smiled at the petite
nurse who always made it a point to make small talk with him. He didn’t mind talking
with the staff, but some of the women tried to get friendlier than he would
have liked. He had a strict policy of not dating his employees. “I'm on my way
out now.”

“Did you read to the kids?”

“Yes,” he said. “They all seemed happy
and content, especially when Santa made an appearance.” Tanner had stopped off
at the pediatric ward, and read
The Night Before Christmas
to the children
who wouldn't be spending Christmas morning at home before calling it a night. His
tradition of reading the story to the kids started a few years back. He liked
seeing the joy spread across those little ones faces. Their smiles reminded him
of when his own son was a child. It wasn't that many years ago, but now it
seemed like another lifetime. Where had the time gone?

“You make it really special for them.” Her
gaze lingered on his lips longer than he felt comfortable with. Attractiveness
had plagued him his entire life. His dark, wavy hair and ice blue eyes were the
talk of all the females around the staff lounge. He worked out often, ran
marathons and swam every day. His body was in top shape. He had a good laugh
when he’d heard the buzz about him being the hospital's versions of
McSteamy
and
McDreamy
rolled into one.

He could have his pick of any woman on
staff and before gaining the top position he had. As he got older, so did the
dating game. Running around, searching for the perfect woman had become tedious.
He wasn't sure
she
existed anymore.

“Well, it breaks my heart to know
they're here tonight. I like to give them and their families something to make
the night special.” It wasn’t as if he had anything to rush home to anyway.

“Do you have plans tonight?” she asked.

He nodded even though his plans weren't
all that exciting. Christmas Eve was just another night to him.

“Merry Christmas, Tanner.” She winked. “I
hope there is something extra special under your tree tonight.”

Not likely.

“Happy Holidays, Jill. I'll see you in a
few days.”

He walked to the indoor garage and
revved up the engine to his BMW, waving goodbye to the attendant on his way out.
By the time he pulled into his own garage, a light snow began to fall. His son Aiden's
car wasn't there. He must have already left for his mother's house. He'd be
back tomorrow afternoon. When Tanner and Lauren divorced ten years ago, Aiden
was only twelve and they had decided he would spend Christmas Eve with her and
Christmas day with Tanner. Aiden was now a college senior, but he insisted that
was the way it had always been, and that was the way he'd like to keep it. Tanner
didn't argue with him. Aiden tried desperately to please both his mother and father.
Tanner never wanted his son caught in the middle. He was a good kid, and
despite Tanner’s differences with his ex-wife, they did their best to make Aiden’s
life easier during their turbulent years of marriage and through the divorce.

When Aiden was younger, Tanner would
take the overnight shift at the hospital and let those with families spend
Christmas Eve at home celebrating. This year there wasn’t a need for him to
fill in, so he ate dinner with some colleagues in the staff lounge instead and
returned home much earlier than usual.

He and his son had a big weekend
planned. They were headed to Colorado the day after Christmas to ski. The trip
had become a staple over the years. It was one of the things Tanner looked
forward to most during the holiday season.

Tanner changed out of his suit, poured himself
a brandy and turned on the gas fire place.  Once he settled into his leather
recliner, he put on
It's a Wonderful Life
. He had traditions too. His
just didn’t include family or friends on this particular evening. Struggling to
keep his eyes opened through the movie, he vaguely heard the words…

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets
his wings…”

A few minutes later, the sound of his
own doorbell jolted him awake. He glanced out the picture window of the family
room and noticed the snow came down at an impressive rate. He wasn't expecting
anyone, so he couldn't imagine who would be calling at this hour in the middle
of a storm. Perhaps it was the TV and not the doorbell.  Maybe he’d dreamt it.
That thought was quickly negated when he heard the chimes again.

He walked down the foyer and pulled the
mahogany door open. He wasn't prepared for who stood on the other side. It had
been quite some time since he’d seen the pretty girl who shivered before him.

“Um, hi, Dr. Rhodes.” Sofia Genovese, Aiden's
childhood friend stood on the porch in a short black coat.

“Sofia? What are you doing here?”  His
voice was groggy from his nap, and he must have appeared out of sorts.

“I hope I’m not intruding.”

“No, of course not. I wasn’t expecting
anyone tonight.”

“I wanted to drop off Aiden's present
and I baked some cookies.” She nodded toward the packages in her hands. “Is
that okay?”

“Sure.” Tanner motioned for her to come
out of the storm as he took the boxes from her. “You must be freezing.”

“I didn't realize how badly it was
snowing. I wanted to deliver the cookies to some friends before it got too
late. You're my last stop.”

“Can I take your coat?” he asked. “Perhaps
you'd like to sit by the fire for a few minutes?”

“I don’t want to bother you,” she said. “It's
late.”

“You're not.” He placed the packages on
the foyer table and then helped her out of her coat. “Aiden is with his mother
tonight and I’m watching a movie.” The company might be nice even if only for a
few minutes.

“My dad is at the police station,
working the night shift.” Her father, a prominent lieutenant in the city, took
his job very seriously and often worked holidays. Sofia's mother didn’t live in
the area, so it was just her and her dad. She had spent many afternoons and
summers hanging out at Tanner’s house.  There were a few years where she was a
permanent fixture. She and Aiden were inseparable through most of high school.
The best of friends. Tanner had always admired their relationship.

“Then we'll keep one another company for
a bit.” He smiled. “I'll get you a drink to warm your system.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I'm positive.”

As soon as Tanner took her coat, he
stopped, mesmerized by her elegance. He hadn't expected the girl standing in
front of him. She'd turned into a flawless woman in the past few years.

How did I miss that?

Her dark hair was loosely pulled up in
the back, but a few strands hung around her face. Her cheeks were rosy,
probably from the cold, and her long, luscious legs didn't appear to end. She wore
a short, tight-fitting, backless red and black dress. It hooked around her neck
leaving no accommodations for a bra.

 S
top it, Tanner!

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look
surprised.”

He hoped he wasn't drooling.

“Yes, it's just that, well, forgive my
forwardness, but you look stunning.” He overstepped, but he couldn't help it.
She had taken him by surprise. She had always been a tomboy. Climbing trees
with Aiden and getting her hands dirty. Tanner remembered tending to many
skinned knees and twisted ankles when she was a child.

“Thank you.” She looked down and he
noticed her cheeks were a darker shade of red. Her embarrassment somehow suited
her face. “I guess you haven't seen me in a while.”

“Come,” he said as he walked down the
hallway to the family room. Tanner heard the click of her black stilettos
hitting the hardwood floor. How she managed to walk in them in this weather was
beyond him, but they accentuated her long, toned legs.

Once they entered the large room, she
stopped to admire the tree. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed to get larger
each year. Maybe he was over compensating for the time he’d spent alone around
the holidays.

“Your Christmas tree is beautiful. I
loved coming to your house during the holidays when I was a kid. You always had
the biggest tree.”

She shivered, but that didn’t surprise Tanner
since she was practically naked. The dress was hot, but it didn’t hide much of
her porcelain-like skin.

“Sit by the fire.” He poured her a glass
of brandy. “This will warm you up.”

“I've never had this before.” She took
the glass from him and then plopped down on the floor in front of the hearth.

“Brandy?”

“I just turned twenty-one in September,
but I don't really drink much.”

Twenty-one, right.

“That's probably a good thing.” He sat
down next to her feeling rather amused that they were on the floor. He couldn't
remember the last time he sat there. “You should take your time with it. If
you're not used to drinking, it'll go right to your head.”

She nodded before taking a small sip.
She crinkled her nose and shook her head. “Yuck.” She looked as if she wanted
to spit the amber liquid back into the glass, but she managed to swallow it.

Tanner couldn't stop the laugh that
escaped his mouth. “I take it you don’t like it.”

“I'm sorry,” she said. “That was rude.”

“It was cute. I should have warned you
it might burn going down.”

“I'm sure the brandy is really good,
but, um—”

“It's okay.” He continued to laugh as he
took the glass from her. “It's an acquired taste.”

“If you say so.”  She shrugged and
stretched out her legs, kicking off her heels.

He found her purity refreshing. “What
have you been up to? I haven't seen you much since Aiden went off to college.”